-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Rafael Nadal suffered only his third defeat in 11 years at the Monte Carlo Masters Friday losing in straight sets to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer .

The 32-year-old Ferrer produced a typically energetic performance to take the quarterfinal match 7-6 -LRB- 7/1 -RRB- 6-4 marking the first time he has beaten Nadal on clay in over a decade .

`` I am happy because I am in the semifinal and because I am playing very good this week , '' a delighted Ferrer told the ATP Tour 's official website .

`` Rafa is not a machine . Sometimes he can play not so good always . Well , maybe today he did n't play his best tennis , and I played very good . ''

The pair swapped four service breaks in an enthralling 85-minute first set that Ferrer eventually took on a tie break .

Ferrer then stretched into a commanding 5-2 lead at the start of the second before being pegged back to 5-4 .

The diminutive Spaniard kept his cool under pressure , however , calmly serving out to take the set 6-4 and with it the match .

Nadal was gracious in defeat , although he admitted concern at what was an uncharacteristically tepid performance at one of his favored events .

The world No. 1 won eight titles in a row at Monte Carlo between 2005 and 2012 before his triumphant run was halted by Novak Djokovic in last year 's final .

`` When you play tennis , you can lose , you can win , '' Nadal said . `` When the opponent is doing things better than you , the normal thing is you lose . That 's what happened today . ''

`` I did n't play the right way . I did n't play with the right intensity with my forehand . I played too short . I gave him the chance to have control of the point almost all the time . He did much better than me , so I just congratulate him . ''

World No. 6 , Ferrer , will now face Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinal Saturday .

The Swiss overcame Canada 's Milos Raonic 7-6 -LRB- 7-5 -RRB- 6-2 to reach his first semifinal since his Melbourne triumph earlier this year .

Elsewhere Roger Federer defeated home favorite Jo Wilfred Tsonga 2-6 7-6 -LRB- 8-6 -RRB- 6-1 to set up an enticing semifinal match against Novak Djokovic .

The Serb eventually overcame Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain in Friday 's final quarter final match winning 4-6 6-3 6-1 .

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David Ferrer defeats Rafael Nadal in quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Masters

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Win marks Ferrer 's first clay court victory over Nadal in a decade

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Ferrer will now face Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in semifinals